PEOPLE are more likely to save money if they feel financially comfortable, rather than if they are actually well off, according to new research.

The Department for Work and Pensions said during 2000 43% of people said they saved money, with 30% doing so on a regular basis, putting aside an average of #154 a month.

During the 10 years to 2000 a third of people were classified as consistent savers, but at the same time just over half consistently did not save money.

The DWP said the most important factor which made people save regularly was their own assessment of their financial situation, irrespective of their income.

It found that people who thought they were financially comfortable were more than two and a half times more likely to be regular savers than people who said they were just getting by, although both groups included people on high and low incomes.

Unsurprisingly people who were employed saved larger amounts over longer periods than those who were not, while finding work increased the likelihood that someone who had not been saving would start putting money aside.

Receiving a windfall led 28% of non-savers to start saving, but at the same time 24% of people who had been saving stopped when they received some unexpected cash.

Overall the research, which was based on the British Household Panel Survey, found men were more likely to be regular savers than women, but this was only because they tended to live in better off households.

Women were also more likely than men to stop saving as a result of a life event such as the birth of their first child, an increase in family size, getting divorced and especially being widowed.

Across both sexes 53% of people who lost a partner and 29% who got married stopped saving, although among non-savers 41% of people started to put money aside after being widowed, while 25% of people getting married started saving.

Having children reduced the likelihood of saving with each additional child.